Are You the One Who is to Come?

For the past two weeks, the evangelist Matthew has given us a glimpse into the Life of St. John the Baptist. A cousin of Jesus, surely, but more. He is the prophetic voice alerting the world that the Messiah has come to visit his people. His courageous proclamation upset Herod, and he was taken into custody and placed in a prison cell.

While incarcerated, a strange thing happens. St. John asked his disciples to ask Jesus this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” The prophet, who earlier preached to make a path straight for the Lord, is now questioning whether Jesus was the Messiah. It has been suggested that John asked the question so that the messengers would hear and take note of Jesus’ response; John, however, was always straightforward, and such a device was out of his character.

So, what do we make of St. John’s question? An explanation might come from the reality of a world darkened by sin, an environment in which St. John lived. He, like everyone except the Blessed Mother, has been tainted and inherited the original sin of our first parents. As holy as St. John was, he too lived in darkness, with the eternal hope that light would dispel it. It isn’t too outlandish that St. John would question whether Jesus was the light of the world.

Jesus, knowing the condition of humanity, responded to the prophet through his disciples, telling him what they had seen and heard. Fallen nature was already being transformed by the works of Jesus, in which blindness is cured, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear again, and the dead are raised.  Never before had the maladies of humanity been reversed, and Jesus was the only person in history to accomplish such signs.

The questioning of St. John the Baptist outside of his need for salvation may have an additional meaning. God used St. John to teach the crowds to prepare their lives for the introduction of the Messiah, but could also use him as an archetype for all of humanity.

Reflecting upon the circumstances that led to St. John’s question was not a deficiency of faith, but rather a metaphor for the human condition. His question was genuine, from a man who was literally living in the dark of his prison cell. For the rest of us, we have been born into darkness and through our baptism have become sons and daughters of God. Yet, we persist in sin.

The truth is, we have constructed our own prison cells where darkness overpowers the light. For sin is darkness, and the nothingness it produces continually moves us away from Jesus instead of closer. It is in these moments that we begin to question Jesus, our own worthiness, and whether light exists at all.

The third candle of our Advent wreaths is a reminder that slowly and surely, the light of God is dispelling the darkness of our lives. Traditionally, the third week of Advent has been called Gaudete Sunday, which means “rejoice” in Latin. It is intended to remind the faithful of the nearness of Redemption.

Lest we leave with a negative impression of St. John the Baptist, heed the words of Jesus, “among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

“Yet I will rejoice in the LORD and exult in my saving God.”

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